


But You Can Never Leave

by Rose_of_Pollux



Category: Luigi's Mansion (Video Games), Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Luigi's Mansion 3 - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:01:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23530501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rose_of_Pollux/pseuds/Rose_of_Pollux
Summary: [Luigi's Mansion 3] A vacation turns out to be a trap. Family and friends are captured. And Luigi finds himself up against foes both old and new in his quest to rescue those who have been taken from him.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	1. Such a Lovely Place

**Author's Note:**

> I know I’m not the first one to write a fic based on LM3, and I won’t be the last, but I had to try my hand at it. As with my World of Light fic, I’ll be following the basic plot of the game while making enough dialogue and changes to make it my own. And as this fic takes place after my Smash Ultimate timeline, there will be a couple references to events in that, but this can be read independently of it.
> 
> Lastly, I have no idea what my update schedule for this will be; I’m still making my way through the game, and I’m balancing other projects in other fandoms right now, as well, but I’ll do my best to update this when I can.

The first thing that caught Luigi’s attention about the Last Resort—and _held_ his attention—was how golden everything looked. Everything was so… beautiful, and so… _expensive_.

Mario seemed to share the same sentiments—speaking the same words Luigi had been thinking—

“ _Mamma mia_ ; we’ve done the plumbing in some of the grandest hotels and penthouses in New York City, but none of them can compare to this!”

“…I don’t even think my _castle_ can compare to this,” Peach added, as she looked around the grand room. “And this is just the lobby!” She paused. “…Don’t tell my father about this; he might get ideas about redecorating, and I’d hate to think of how many coins it’d take from the treasury to do it…”

“Especially after we had to rebuild—” Mario began.

“ _Bro_! Look, the buffet table!” Luigi interrupted. Peach had been away on official diplomatic business when UndoDog had accidentally destroyed her castle, and Mario had assembled Luigi, Toadette, and the Toad Construction Crew in a frantic bid to rebuild it before she returned. They had succeeded, narrowly, but there were times when Luigi wasn’t entirely sure that Peach was completely clueless as to what had happened.

Indeed, Peach had a smirk on her face as Mario verbally backtracked and edged towards the buffet table, followed by Luigi’s ghost dog, Polterpup. Luigi just gave Peach an embarrassed chuckle and a shrug.

“Wario would certainly have a field day if he was here and saw all of this gold, huh?” he said.

“He certainly would,” Peach agreed, trying to demurely hide her amusement. “He’d be thrown out of here for trying to peel the gold off of the walls. And Waluigi, too—he’d be dragged into those shenanigans, as well.”

Luigi did have a laugh at this, and then amused himself by looking around the rest of the lobby, as Peach now walked over to her entourage of Toads and talked with them. He glanced over for a moment before sighing in relief.

Well, if Peach _did_ know about the rebuilding fiasco, it was clear that she didn’t hold it against them, thank goodness, Luigi realized. Though her reaction was understandable; compared to some of the things they’d had to deal with, it was, amazingly, on the lower end of the scale.

He sobered for a moment. After all, they’d been through so much worse just prior to that at the last Smash tournament…

He pushed those thoughts aside. No; there would be no more dwelling on that, not when they were here on vacation, here to have fun. They had moved past Ridley and Ganondorf and Dracula and Galeem and Dharkon, and had managed to come through it, closer than ever—especially so with Mario and Peach, who had made the decision to tie the knot for fear of losing each other again, with Robin officiating the ceremony; it was heavily under wraps, of course, for fear of skyrocketing Bowser’s jealousy to maximum levels, but Luigi was happy for them, and for the fact that something good had come out of that whole thing.

The invitation to this resort had come at the perfect time; after dealing with the tournament, rebuilding the castle, and then their world karting tour, it would finally give them a chance to all relax at last.

The only thing that could’ve made it better would’ve been if more of their friends could’ve come, Luigi mused. Daisy had been the most disappointed in not being able to go, having been dragged to an official state meeting by her parents. Pit had been dragged off to Mt. Olympus with Palutena for a meeting of the Pantheon, as well; it was an incredible honor to be among the Pantheon, and even though Pit had wanted to go with Peach and the Bros, to do so would have insulted multiple Gods and Goddesses—never a good thing for those who wanted to remain unharmed. Link and Zelda had extended their regrets, but they still had much to do with rebuilding Hyrule, and Red and Leaf had disappeared, off to some remote island called Paiso with their friend Blue to train, as they often tended to do.

And their other friends and allies also sent their regrets, and Luigi couldn’t blame them, knowing that they were busy—there were still pieces to be picked up from the aftermath of the restoration in all of their homeworlds. Anyway, he would certainly appreciate a vacation with Mario, Peach, and their Toad friends.

He walked over to his brother now, watching in some amusement as Polterpup snatched a piece of cake from Mario’s hand. Mario seemed to take it all in stride, and gave his brother a good-natured smile.

“Do you think Peach figured out…?”

“I don’t know,” Luigi replied, not sure himself. “But you probably should tell her at some point, Bro.”

“Yeah,” Mario sighed. “Well, it’s nice to have that as the least of our worries for a change, right?”

“You said it,” Luigi agreed, with a nod, and he hid a chuckle as Polterpup snatched a second piece of cake from Mario, much to his brother’s befuddlement.

“… _Mamma mia_ ,” Mario mused. “If I can manage to get something to eat, I was thinking we could try to find the tennis courts—a place like this has got to have them! Maybe they even have a golf course!”

“Golf and tennis? Now?” Luigi asked. “Bro, aren’t you even a little bit exhausted from traveling here?”

“Nope!” Mario replied, cheerily. “Just hungry!”

“Link would be jealous of your ability to travel for so long without getting tired, from what I understand,” Peach said, walking over now with the Toads. “But I certainly would like to freshen up and rest, too.”

“Hmm,” Mario mused. “Okay; you and Luigi can rest, and I’ll have dinner—and then, after you both wake up, we can all have supper!” He reached for another slice of cake, only to have Polterpup snatch it from him, too. “…I think I’ll order room service.”

Neither Luigi nor Peach had flickered an eyelid at Mario announcing that he would have both dinner and supper; indeed, Luigi had expected it, often having had to cover for Mario when he attempted to raid the fridge between meals in their younger years (often for a cut of the spoils). And Peach had gotten used to both brothers’ quirks by now.

But with the consensus that they would retreat to their rooms for a bit, they began to gather the luggage. It was then that the concierge directed their attention to the descending elevator, which opened to reveal a slender woman with a beehive hairdo. Her eyes were hidden behind a set of shades, but she gave the assembled crew a warm grin.

“Put those down, Dearies!” she instructed, flamboyantly tossing around a feather boa around her shoulders. “You are my guests, and I simply won’t have your picture-perfect selves put out by dragging luggage around!”

She gave a commanding whistle, and the staff in the lobby rushed to put the luggage on a cart to take up in the elevator; she surveyed this for a moment before turning back to the brothers and Peach.

“Hellen Gravely, your hostess,” she introduced, blowing them a kiss. “Welcome to the Last Resort.”

Mario extended a hand in greeting, and then stammered awkwardly as Hellen instead curtsied by way of greeting. He looked to Peach for guidance, and seeing her curtsey in return, he snapped his fingers in realization and doffed his cap in return, as well; Luigi followed his lead.

Hellen seemed amused by this reaction.

“Very well, Gentlemen—and Lady,” she said. “If you kindly follow me, I will show you to your suites.” She turned to Luigi, who stumbled back, startled by the sudden invasion of his personal space. “We have spared no expense to ensure that everything is just perfect for you during your stay.”

“ _Ah, bene, Signorina_!” Mario replied, stepping forward to draw Hellen from Luigi, seeing his brother’s uneasiness. Luigi was naturally nervous around people he didn’t know well; his anxieties had been quelled a bit by recent adventures, but someone getting too close would be just a bit more attention than he would be comfortable with.

“That is very kind of you,” Peach agreed, also stepping forward. “I must admit, I am quite flattered that you decided to give us the VIP treatment. Surely you didn’t have to go so far—?”

“Go so far?” Hellen scoffed, turning away from Luigi as Mario and Peach had hoped. “If Luigi here had come alone, he would’ve gotten the royal treatment! And now, the heiress apparent to the throne of the Mushroom Kingdom is here, and her champion? Why, having you here is a veritable coup!”

She laughed now, and Mario and Peach tried to chuckle along politely; Luigi’s half-hearted attempt didn’t make it very far. What a choice of words… Even the Toads were whispering among themselves.

Well, nevermind; Hellen had gone all-out to make them feel welcome and had clearly put a lot of time and money in addition to the efforts required to prepare for such a grand opening. The least Luigi could do was appreciate it.

“Well, thanks for inviting us, anyway,” he said, and Mario nodded in agreement. “We really do appreciate it.”

“Oh, believe me, Dearies—the pleasure is all mine,” Hellen grinned, and she picked up a golden candelabra—despite it still being light out—and beckoned them to follow her into the elevator.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, and the Toads all exchanged glances and shrugged, following their hostess, with Polterpup happily bounding behind them. Hellen was definitely a hard one to read, but, at the same time, they endeavored to be polite.

After taking the elevator up a few floors, she indicated for Peach and the brothers to get off of the elevator.

“You’ll find your suites here, Dearies,” Hellen said, cheerily, still holding onto the candelabra as she glanced at the Toads. “I’ll show the little ones their room, too.” She smiled at them before looking back at Peach and the brothers. “If there’s anything you need—anything at all—don’t hesitate to let me or any of the staff know; we are at your beck and call. And now, I bid you to relax your travel-weary selves.” Her lips thinned into a subtle smirk. “I hope you have a nice, long sleep.”

She led the Toads off to their sleeping quarters, leaving a rather perplexed Mario, Luigi, and Peach behind, wondering what the heck just happened.

“Well, she seems nice enough…?” Peach offered, though sounding slightly confused by it all.

“Yeah…?” Mario agreed, in a similar tone, scratching his head. “What do you think, Little Bro?”

“Eh…” Something about Hellen left Luigi uneasy—maybe it was just how she had gotten up in his personal space earlier. He was also very tired; maybe it was just his anxiety acting up again… “I’ll get back to you after I’ve relaxed a bit.”

“Fair enough,” Mario said. “Peach, you said you wanted to rest, too?”

“Yes, I did,” she said. She smiled. “And you want to call room service.”

Mario sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck as his stomach growled.

“Well, Polterpup ate all the cake…”

The ghost dog whined, realizing that he had probably gone too far with his antics, but Luigi gave him a reassuring scratch behind the ears.

“It’s okay, Buddy; Mario isn’t mad at you.”

“Of course not!” Mario agreed, cheering the dog up immediately.

Polterpup bounded all around them; Mario and Peach watched in amusement, and Luigi sleepily attempted to try to calm him down.

“Ok, Bro, I think you do need a nap,” Mario said after a moment, gently guiding him to the door of his room. Polterpup eagerly phased through the door before Mario had even opened it.

Luigi let out a tremendous yawn.

“ _Grazie_ ,” he managed to say through the yawn, dragging his bag behind him into the room.

Polterpup was still bounding around the room in excitement, but once he saw Luigi clambering into bed, he calmed down, hopping onto the bed beside him and curling up for a nap, as well.

Mario smiled and closed the door as Luigi sleepily reached for a book; knowing how quickly and how deeply his brother could fall asleep, he knew Luigi wasn’t about to get any reading done tonight.

Sure enough, Mario had barely stepped away before hearing snores from behind the door; he chuckled to himself.

“And he’s off to the Dream World again,” Mario sighed. “But he’s earned it; that was quite a journey we had.”

“And somehow, you’re just hungry, not tired?” Peach teased.

Mario blushed slightly as his stomach growled again.

“That answers my question,” she added. She paused, daintily covering a yawn of her own with her gloved hand.

“ _Amore_ , you rest,” Mario instructed. “I will have my dinner, and I will see to getting supper for us when you wake up. What would you like?”

“Oh, anything will do; I’m not picky,” Peach mused. “And I wonder just how much sleep I’ll get here; it looks like there’s so much to do and see in this hotel. I can’t wait until tomorrow morning when everything will be open!” She picked up one of her bags and smiled. “Well, I’ll see you and Luigi in a bit!”

“Right!” Mario said, and he crossed to the phone in the corridor, putting in a request for a stack of pizzas.

In spite of their somewhat batty hostess, things were promising to be great.


	2. Pink Champagne on Ice

Peach awoke refreshed a few hours later. She quickly freshened up and stepped out into the corridor, gazing once more at the golden walls. She shook her head in amazement before gently knocking on the door of the next room.

Mario opened the door and smiled.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Wonderful,” Peach said, smiling back at him. “Shall we wake up Luigi and have dinner?”

“I’m still thinking about that,” Mario admitted. He headed over to the door of Luigi’s room and gave a thoughtful look as Luigi’s loud snoring could be heard even through the closed door.

“I see what you mean,” she said. “I guess I’d feel bad if we woke him up when he wants to sleep in.”

“Mm-hmm,” Mario said, as he eased back, trying not to disturb his brother. “I’ll save a pizza for him in case he wakes up hungry later.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Peach approved. “I’m guessing it’s a bit late for the kitchen to be making anything additional—I’ll share some pizza with you, too.”

“Okay!” Mario said. He suspected that Hellen would insist that the kitchen serve them whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted, but Peach certainly wouldn’t want to disturb anyone this late—and neither did he.

He led the way back to his room, and Peach had to cover her mouth in amusement as she saw the stack of empty pizza boxes, and the smaller stack of those still to be opened.

“Are you sure you’re still hungry, Mario?”

“Oh, yeah!” he exclaimed, giving her a thumbs-up. “What kind of toppings would you like?”

“What kind did you get?”

“Just about one of everything—except anchovies.” Mario made a face. “I really don’t know why Luigi likes them; he’s been that way since we were kids. Sometimes, I think he orders anchovy pizza so that I won’t sneak a slice or two.”

Peach was still covering her mouth—sure enough, Luigi had once confided to her that he did that for exactly that reason.

“Well, which would you recommend?” she asked, after a moment.

“The artichoke and basil pizza is especially good,” Mario replied, giving a dramatic chef’s kiss.

“Then let’s have that!” she said.

Mario picked up the box and some plates, and then indicated the suite’s balcony.

“There’s a table and chairs out there—do you want to eat on the balcony?”

“Oh, that sounds lovely!” Peach exclaimed.

She opened the doors and stepped out into the night air. It was crisp and cool, just the right temperature. The full moon was out, and even several stars were visible in spite of the bright moon and lights from the building.

She gave a contented sigh as Mario set the pizza and plates on the table, and sat down to eat. They ate and talked—about how beautiful everything was, the moon and the stars, wondering what Rosalina was up to right now, wondering how their friends had managed to move on since the tournament, and even wondering about some of their enemies—

“This has to be the longest we’ve gone without Bowser causing trouble, even after our truce is technically over,” Peach mused. “Oh, I hope I haven’t jinxed it…”

“I don’t think so,” Mario assured her, smiling encouragingly. “He has a lot on his mind with Bowser Junior and the Koopalings—they’re still young. It’s probably taking them longer to move past it—especially Junior.”

“That’s true,” Peach agreed. “Well, I can’t say that I miss Bowser’s attacks, but I hope the kids will be alright.”

Mario nodded in agreement, and both he and Peach gave a start as the main room door opened from the corridor. They stared, awkwardly, as the Steward from downstairs stared awkwardly back at them, wheeling a cart that had ice buckets holding bottles of champagne resting on it.

“So here you both are,” he said, after a moment, sounding slightly relieved. “I wasn’t sure where the princess was—Miss Gravely insisted that our esteemed guests each have a complimentary bottle of champagne. I’ve already delivered one for the Toads to share, but you get our very best.”

He pushed the cart over and left one of the champagne ice buckets on the balcony table beside the pizza, along with two glasses.

“Shall I leave yours in your room, Princess?” Steward asked.

“You can leave it here; it’s fine,” she said, with a smile. “This is really kind of you—and Hellen, of course.”

“The pleasure is ours, Princess. Ah, and what about Master Luigi?”

“Leave his in here, too, please,” Mario requested. “He needs his rest and I don’t want anyone waking him up just yet.”

“Oh, Luigi is already asleep?” Steward asked. “Very well; I’ll just leave the cart here, and you can let me know when you no longer need it.”

“We’ll do that,” Peach said. “Thank you!”

Steward bowed and then left, prompting Mario and Peach to exchange glances, after which they both shrugged. Mario then picked up the champagne bottle and glanced at it.

“What year is it?” Peach asked.

“I don’t know; there’s just a label with the hotel’s name on it,” Mario said, with another shrug. “Oh well—it is free, after all…”

“And with a hotel as luxurious as this, I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Peach mused. “This Hellen Gravely may be a little… out there, but she’s certainly pulled out all the stops.”

“Mm-hmm,” Mario said, as he popped the cork off of the bottle. He then paused, glancing at Peach. “Er… do you really think you should have champagne?”

“Hmm? Oh…!” Peach went slightly red, recalling the time years ago, after celebrating their first successful kart race, how she’d gotten tipsy after just a bit of champagne. It had been her first time trying it, and she hadn’t had it since—not after waking up under Daisy’s care with a hangover the next morning. “…Yes, good point.”

“Never fear!” Mario assured her. He darted over to his suitcase and got out a bottle of sparkling water, which he presented to her for her approval. “How about this?”

“That’s perfect,” she smiled.

Mario smiled back and poured the water into her glass, and then poured the champagne into his. He blinked, noting that it was an odd, pink color.

“I’ve never seen champagne like this before,” he mused. “I guess they must’ve put some sort of food dye in it.”

“I have to say, I like the color.”

“Of course you would,” Mario teased.

He raised his glass, and she raised her glass of water; they brought them together with a gentle “clink” before taking a drink.

“How is it?” Peach asked.

“Pretty good,” Mario said. “Exactly what you’d expect from a place like this.” He took a few more sips and placed his glass down, looking out over the balcony. The view was marvelous, and both he and Peach continued to gaze out at it for several minutes before Mario finally spoke again. “I really hope they have tennis courts here…”

“Oh, Mario, we can play tennis whenever we want at home!” Peach chided.

“Well, you know me…” Mario trailed off with a yawn. “I always gotta try a new tennis court. You know, I never met…” He yawned again. “…I never met a tennis court I didn’t like…”

Peach blinked; that was a strange thing to say…

“Mario?” she asked.

“Hmm…?”

She glanced back at him, noting that he suddenly seemed very tired, and his gaze was slightly out of focus.

“You feeling alright, Mario?”

“Mm-hmm,” he answered, sleepily. “View’s getting a little hazy, though… Maybe I was more tired than I thought… Guess all the travel is finally catching up…”

“I guess…” Peach said. Something in her gut told her that there was more to it than that; he’d been perfectly awake and chipper just minutes ago…

Her gaze fell upon the nearly-finished glass of champagne—as she picked it up and sniffed it, the Steward’s odd words from before returned to her mind—

_“Oh, Luigi is already asleep?”_

Before she had even finished her thought, there was a _THUNK_ as Mario fell forward, faceplanting onto the table.

“Mario!?”

“Night-night…” he mumbled.

“No, no, no, no, no,” she said, gently grabbing the sides of his face and lifting his head back up. “Mario, you can’t sleep now!”

“ _Ma è notte_ …” he protested, through another set of yawns. “And I feel like I just attended a Jigglypuff concerto… And the crowd was full of Fuzzies…”

“Mario, they put something in the champagne! A sleeping pill or potion or something like that!”

“Why would they… do a thing like that?” Mario yawned.

“It’s a trap!” Peach exclaimed. “Hellen must’ve orchestrated this whole thing—oh, I _thought_ it was too good to be true…!” She trailed off with a gasp. “Luigi and the Toads—they’re in danger!”

“ _Che cosa_!?”

Mario certainly seemed more awake (at least partially) at the mention of a threat to his little brother; pure adrenaline was now combatting whatever sedative had been in the champagne.

“We need to warn them—now!” Peach exclaimed.

“ _Si_ —you go and warn the Toads,” Mario insisted, getting woozily to his feet. “I’ll warn Luigi—”

“Mario, I don’t think you should be left alone…”

“But there might be no time…” Mario pointed out, cringing and placing a hand to his head. “Oh, _Mamma mia_ …”

Peach silently fretted, moving to help him steady himself, but he held up a hand, determined to do it himself.

“ _Amore_ , I have a responsibility for my bro, just as you have a responsibility for the Toads.”

At last, she relented, for it was true—they were both duty-bound, regardless of their instincts.

“Be careful,” she instructed, kissing him. “Get Luigi and hide somewhere—wait for me.”

“ _Si_.”

She did, at least, insist upon helping him to the corridor, and she ran down the opposite direction, she glanced back silently fretting again as she saw Mario stumble towards Luigi’s room, hoping that they would both be alright.

She turned the corridor, checking door after door—she didn’t know exactly which room the Toads were in, and she was kicking herself now for being taken in by the luxury of her suite without, at least, knowing where her entourage had been staying.

As she opened one door, however, she paused in a moment of brief confusion—this room was occupied, but she didn’t recognize the luggage. Well, there was no time to ponder that now; she’d worry about it later. It was when she opened the next room, however, that she found the Toads’ suitcases, open and abandoned--their owners nowhere in sight, and her heart sank. They had already been taken.

She clenched a fist and, in a moment of weakness, struck the wall, her royal dignity temporarily forgotten as her emotions got the better of her and as she cursed her lack of vigilance. So many red flags had been missed, all because she and the brothers had gotten complacent at the lack of any serious goings-on since the tournament…

_The brothers!_

There was still a chance to rescue the Toads with Mario and Luigi’s help; they just had to lay low until Mario recovered from the sedative, but there was no time to lose—she had to make sure they were safe!

She darted back down the corridor the way she had come; they had to be okay—Luigi’s suite had been right next to Mario’s. It shouldn’t have taken Mario long to get to him, even despite being sedated.

As she turned the corridor, something caused her to stop—the door to Luigi’s suite was still closed, and there was something lying in front of the door. Peach briefly glanced around to make sure the coast was clear before running towards it, her heart in her throat, and she stopped in front of it as her worst fears were realized—

It was a life-size painting of Mario, only she knew it was no mere painting—it was a prison, one that he’d been in before. The look of surprise and shock on his face meant that, as with Ridley, he’d been ambushed—this time, caught unaware trying to reach his brother…

_Wait… Luigi… Was he…?_

Before she’d even had a chance to check on Luigi, a sudden chill filled the air as she felt a malevolent presence materialize behind her. She knew even as she turned, who it would be, and she wasn’t at all surprised to see King Boo leering down, readying another portrait prison.

Once again, she cast royal dignity aside—this time, to warn Luigi, their last hope—and unleashed a scream which she prayed would awaken the sleeping plumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peach’s low tolerance for alcohol was a reference to her victory screen in the original Japanese edition of Super Mario Kart, where she got drunk off of a few sips of champagne. This was, for obvious reasons, changed in the international versions, but I still consider it “basically canon.” The anchovy thing is another “basically canon” thing from Charles Martinet’s in-character interactions at Nintendo NY—more than once, he seems to have established that Luigi likes anchovies on pizza, while Mario does not; I think it’s a great way of showing that they do have their individual quirks and differences, as siblings do.


	3. Wake You Up in the Middle of the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… this chapter came way later than I intended it to. As for why that is, I can answer in two words: New Horizons. I’m going to try very hard not to let this happen again.
> 
> Additionally, I noticed that, in Luigi’s Mansion 3, King Boo seems no longer bound to the “Boos can’t move when you’re looking at them” rule. There was no real explanation for it, so I decided to bring back the rule for the purposes of my story.
> 
> Lastly, there are some references to my Smash Ultimate story arc, but as they mostly reference trailers and story mode itself, reading them isn’t necessary (though I’ll certainly appreciate it if you do).

Luigi had been enjoying a deep sleep up until that point—blissfully unaware of the trap closing in on himself and his companions.

That was, until, he found his sleep interrupted by Peach’s scream.

“Wha…?”

His eyes snapped open as he scrambled to a sitting position. It was all very quiet now—had he been dreaming…?

But as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he froze. The room had changed completely—it was no longer the warm, gold-covered room he’d fallen asleep in. Everything was dark and old and musty—and felt terribly wrong. There was his bag on the floor, now surrounded by an eerie fog. And Polterpup was nowhere to be seen. Everything seemed like a different world than the one he had gone to sleep in.

…Was _this_ a dream? Was he really Dreamy Luigi right now?

Well, nightmare or not, Peach needed help, and even as Dreamy Luigi, he would help his brother help her—for, surely, Mario was already there to defend her.

He opened the door to the corridor and froze. It was still the lavish, gold-covered wall outside—at least it was for just a moment. Even as Luigi stepped out into it, the gold faded away, revealing the same dark and old interior as had been revealed in his room.

“Mario…?” he softly called. “Peach…?”

The eerie fog was present in his brother’s room when he went to check it out. Luigi edged his way to the balcony, blinking to see the pizza and champagne on the table. There were still some slices of pizza left, and that was Luigi’s first clue that this was not a dream and that something terrible had happened, for his brother would _never_ leave a pizza (without anchovies) unfinished.

The half-finished glass of champagne was his other clue; he, too, took a sniff and could see that it had been doctored. The sparkling water proved that Peach was here; Mario must’ve been knocked out, and she had screamed… But what had happened after that…?

With a shudder, he went to Peach’s suite next, finding it empty, as well.

With a sigh, he now concentrated, trying to activate his fraternal psychic link—something that he and Mario had shared since infancy, and something they had subsequently forgotten about until Bowser, of all people, had reminded them about it during a dire moment in the last Smash tournament, and they had subsequently learned to master it during the unfolding struggle against Galeem and Dharkon.

But even as he concentrated now, Luigi didn’t seem to be able to get through to his brother. He knew this could be for any number of reasons—especially if Mario was still knocked out. It didn’t necessarily mean the worst… though that possibility was what Luigi feared most of all.

As Luigi headed out back into the corridor, he headed further, wondering if, perhaps, the Toads had managed to get away. But he froze as, suddenly, Hellen herself emerged from the elevator. For a split-second, Luigi considered asking her for help—but that train of thought soon pulled the brakes as he took note that Hellen herself was illuminated by a ghostly glow—and her eyes, no longer hidden behind shades, were piercing through the darkness with an unearthly gaze.

She noticed him staring at her, and responded with a smug smile.

“Well, hello, Dearie,” she said. “I was just coming by to ensure that everything was in order. You have everything you need?”

“You… You’re a…” Luigi stammered.

“A ghost? Well, naturally—you don’t expect mortals to come up with a hotel like this, do you?” she purred.

“…Where’s my brother!?” Luigi managed to say. “And the princess!? And the Toads!? What did you do to them!?”

“I didn’t do a thing,” Hellen insisted. “You and your plucky crew are highly sought after, did you know?”

“Where are they!?” Luigi cried again.

“They are well in hand,” Hellen said. “Now if you’ll just relax, you can be with them, as well—”

“No! Please, give them back! If you give them back, we’ll leave here—we’ll leave you alone!”

“ _Leave_ , Dearie? After everything I did to get you all here, you think I want you to go!? No, no… this may have been an invitation to a getaway, but you can never leave! Now, stand still! This won’t take long…”

There would be no bargaining with her, Luigi realized—now, all he could do was stall until he could figure out a way of escape… and a way to rescue everyone…

“Why!?” he blurted out. “Why are you doing this to us!? We never did anything to hurt you!”

And for the briefest moment, Hellen paused.

“You lie,” she said, her voice laced with venom.

“Wha…?” Luigi sputtered. “But I’ve never met you before!”

“You have wounded me so deeply on more than one occasion—and so, now I wound you—wound you with the knowledge that you dragged your brother, the princess, and your other companions into this trap.”

“What did I _do_!?” Luigi protested.

“Your actions against my liege—and my love,” she accused. “You were a fool to think that they would go unpunished!”

“Your… _what_ …?”

“Do you understand now, Luigi?”

“ _No_!?”

Hellen tutted in frustration, and then stood aside; with a swish of her cape, she revealed a gigantic, crowned Boo.

Luigi wasn’t able to stop the cry of alarm that escaped him at the sight of his archnemesis. King Boo _had_ vowed revenge—but Luigi hadn’t expected it to come like this, and so soon…!

He froze in his tracks now, keeping his eyes on King Boo—he was, after all, still a Boo, meaning that he could not move if someone was looking directly at him. And as his ghostly foe stared him down, he was vaguely aware of Hellen’s chuckling.

“Ah, I think you understand _now_ , Dearie,” she said. “My darling and I are here for revenge!”

“I almost had it,” King Boo hissed. “After she let me out of that dratted professor’s vault, we were readying our plans—and then that fool Galeem had to interfere!”

“…You still nearly had me killed,” Luigi reminded him. “You attacked Joker, and when he used darkness to fight back, you knew I’d take the blame to protect him from Galeem and his army of Master Hands!”

“Yes. Pity it didn’t work,” King Boo mused.

“And when Galeem and Dharkon went after me, you tried to take me out while I was down!”

“Pity that didn’t work, either…”

Luigi just continued to stare for a moment.

“I don’t understand…!” he exclaimed, at last. “Galeem and Dharkon wouldn’t have spared you—Galeem would’ve wanted you destroyed and Dharkon would’ve wanted you to be his servant. I helped stop them— _I’m_ partly the reason they didn’t touch you! Why did you put me through all that—and why are you doing this now!?”

“Because I _can_!” the Boo cackled. “If you wanted to be a sap and help protect me, then that’s _your_ problem! And speaking of your problems…”

Though he couldn’t move, King Boo was still able to levitate objects—and he now caused several paintings to levitate—paintings that revealed Mario, Peach, and the Toad entourage in the various expressions of shock and surprise that they had expressed upon the moment of their capture. Though he struggled to keep his gaze on King Boo to keep him from moving, Luigi could see them—the terrified looks on the faces of his friends and family—in his peripheral vision.

“…I supposed I lied when I said that you would all be together,” Hellen mused, visibly gleeful at Luigi’s distress. “You see, you will be just like them, sealed away forever in a little pocket dimension, never to see each other again. But, at least, the collection will be complete! You’ll have an eternity to accept that.”

King Boo, still immobilized by Luigi’s terrified stare, now caused the paintings to warp away elsewhere.

“No—!” Luigi cried, turning away from King Boo in a futile attempt to reach them before they vanished.

He realized his mistake in an instant; King Boo vanished from sight with a triumphant shriek of laughter the moment he looked away—he had been banking on Luigi reacting in such a way.

“Now!” Hellen exclaimed.

“ _Luigi! Run!_”

It was his brother’s voice—weak, but unmistakably sent through their psychic connection. Perhaps being in close proximity had allowed them to communicate, however briefly…

…But there was no time to ponder that now; Luigi did as his brother instructed. Even as he fled down the corridor, he could see the shadow of another portrait frame above him as King Boo’s laugh filled his ears.

Luggage and furniture that had been in the hallway swirled around the air as though whipped around by a tornado—the force being just as dangerous as one. Luigi nearly had the wind knocked out of him by one of Peach’s suitcases that had been sent slamming into his back, sending him tumbling forward, getting hit by even more flying objects.

“ _Bro! Get up!_ ”

Through the haze that was now surrounding him, Luigi struggled to get back to his feet. He had to run—had to get away, if only to find a way back to rescue everyone… But that last hit had made him so dizzy…

He stumbled forward, stopping as he reached a dead end; staring at only a wall with a laundry chute, he could see the shadow of the portrait frame over him once more. Looking at King Boo to stop him from moving wouldn’t help now…

“ _LUIGI!_ ”

Somehow, despite being trapped, despite his portrait prison having been spirit away elsewhere, the psychic connection had been reforged, albeit weakly. It meant that Mario would be all too well aware of the fate befalling him… only able to watch helplessly…

…He couldn’t put his brother through that. Not again.

With his last ounce of strength, Luigi opened the laundry chute and jumped in, feeling the gust of air from the painting coming down behind him and hearing King Boo’s shriek of frustration as the chute door closed up behind him.

Battered and bruised, Luigi tumbled down the chute, trying to stay conscious as a host of memories swam through his mind—

There was Ridley, taunting him by twirling Mario’s cap on his claw… There was Ganondorf, trying to awaken Luigi’s darkness to claim the power of the Void… There was Dracula and Death, also seeking that power for themselves… There was Galeem, vaporizing everything and everyone around him… There was Dharkon, trying to turn him against his brother…

Luigi could only think of one thought as he fell unconscious—

_Haven’t I been through_ enough _already!?_


	4. We are All Just Prisoners Here

Luigi hadn’t been sure of how much time had passed; he didn’t want to open his eyes for fear of waking up in a pocket dimension—that he didn’t get away after all…

“ _Luigi…?_ ”

Wait, was that Mario again…?

“ _Luigi, can you hear me!?_ ”

“Big Bro…?”

“… _Grazie al cielo…! I wasn’t sure what had happened to you_ …”

Luigi tried very hard to swallow the lump in his throat; even from his prison, his elder brother still was more concerned about him than his own fate.

“ _Do you know where you are, Luigi?_ ”

Luigi finally opened his eyes, blinking as he found himself in a pile of linens. Well, he _had_ jumped into the laundry chute; at this point, he was just grateful for the safe—and soft—landing.

“The laundry room in the basement,” he said. “Thankfully, it’s just— _yipe_!”

He gave a start as two transparent eyes popped in front of his line of vision; he blinked again as he realized it was Polterpup, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“ _Luigi_!?”

“I’m fine—I found Polterpup. Or, I guess, he found me.” He sighed and sat up. “Mario, do you know where King Boo has kept you and Peach and the Toads?”

“ _They gave away all the Toads’ portraits to some of the other ghosts in this hotel; they kept Peach and me together; we’re here with Hellen… but I’m not sure where ‘here’ is. We’re probably on a high floor or something…_ ”

“ _Bene_ —I’ll find you and get you all out of here. If I take your portraits to Evershade Valley, the Professor can—”

“ _Luigi, you can’t! You have to get out of here!_ ”

Luigi sat in the pile of linens, incredulous.

“I can’t leave you here!”

“ _You won’t be able to fight the ghosts!_ ” Mario countered. “ _You can’t jump on them, you can’t use fireballs on them… You need to get out of here and come back with our friends and allies who can—the Professor, Mewtwo, the Belmonts, even Bayonetta could help!_ ”

Luigi sighed again, and was about to reply when Polterpup suddenly started barking at him, and then phased through the door of the laundry room, continuing to bark.

“ _Luigi? Luigi, are you listening to me!?_ ”

“One sec, Bro,” Luigi said, and he focused on following the sound of Polterpup’s barks—through the corridor, and then, to the garage.

He paused again as he saw Polterpup prancing around an old car, phasing in and out of the storage space in the front.

“…Isn’t that the Professor’s car…?” he wondered aloud.

He opened the storage compartment and found himself staring at the Poltergust— _his_ Poltergust, the one he had used to get himself through the last Smash tournament. He had given it to Professor Gadd for adjustments after the tournament had ended, but here it was! …And now, he was no longer completely helpless against the ghosts…

“ _Luigi?_ ”

“Bro, you won’t believe this, but I just found my Poltergust—it was in the Professor’s car, down in the garage!”

There was a pause.

“ _You found the Poltergust and the Professor’s car?_”

“Uh-huh!”

“… _Then where is the Professor?_”

Luigi blinked.

“…Um…”

The younger plumber glanced around, as though expecting Professor Gadd to just jump out from somewhere behind all the junk that had been piled here. Polterpup seemed restless, as though he was trying to track something, but he didn’t seem to be able to get ahold of the scent properly.

“Well, he’s not here,” Luigi said, after looking around the garage. “But he was here—how else could this stuff have gotten here?”

“ _…Luigi, you really need to get out of here._ ”

“What!? Bro, I finally have the Poltergust; I’ve got a better chance at getting you and the others out, especially since the Professor is here—”

“ _I think Hellen and King Boo must’ve gotten the Professor, too—why else would his car just be lying there in this place?_ ”

“But if I leave, what’s going to happen to you guys?” Luigi protested.

“ _You can come back—I just… I just don’t want you to face all this alone. I don’t know for how long I can keep this up—Hellen keeps looking back at me. I think she’s figuring out that we can communicate telepathically_.”

“Then we should probably save it for emergencies,” Luigi replied. “But, Big Bro, listen—I know you want to look out for me and you don’t want me to do this all alone, but… You know, deep down, if it was the other way around, you couldn’t leave me, even temporarily. What makes you think I could leave you and the others?”

“… _I hate it when you make sense_.”

“I always do; you just don’t pay attention.”

“ _Oh, is that so!? _”

Luigi managed a wan smile; if his brother’s competitive spirit was still that strong, then he would certainly hold on fine until Luigi could find him.

“Yes, it is,” he insisted. “Look, if you don’t want Hellen getting suspicious, we should probably talk again later. I’ll handle everything from here.”

“ _Will you be okay?_ ”

“…No,” Luigi replied, honestly. “But I’ll handle it anyway.”

“… _In case I don’t say it enough—I’m proud of you, Little Bro_.”

“You say it plenty,” Luigi assured him, managing a smile in spite of himself. “I’ll see you soon.” _I hope_.

They said their farewells, and Luigi gave a quiet sigh as the psychic link went silent. He would have liked to have had his brother’s guidance for this, as much as his brother would have wanted to give him guidance—but they both knew they couldn’t risk Hellen finding out what they were doing.

Polterpup’s barking jolted him out of his thoughts, and he followed his ghost dog to the staircase and headed upstairs. Stumbling off of the stairs, he paused, realizing that he was in the once-grand lobby of the hotel. Like the rooms on their floor, it no longer had the gold and luxurious furnishings that they had seen upon their arrival—it was dark and old as everything else in this hotel clearly was.

And what chilled Luigi most of all were the welcoming banners of him, his brother, Peach, and Red Toad—all four of the banners now had an X over them in black ink, a warning to all else who entered.

It had been the perfect trap… and it was only by his brother’s sheer will that Luigi had escaped.

Polterpup now let out a quiet growl, staring in the direction of the main doors. Luigi turned, freezing as he saw two blue ghosts boarding the doors shut. Mercifully, they hadn’t noticed him yet.

He could’ve run and hid, but he didn’t—and he wasn’t sure why he hadn’t. He just stood there, watching the ghosts do their nefarious work, in full view, and they didn’t even notice he was standing there.

“Hey…!”

They noticed now—and Luigi was stunned at himself, for intentionally getting the attention of a ghost was something he would _never_ do under normal conditions. He’d have normally been content to sneak past them.

But this wasn’t normal. This wasn’t just the hopelessness and fright he usually felt when something like this happened, no…. There was something else this time—anger. How _dare_ King Boo do this, after those stunts he pulled in Galeem and Dharkon’s worlds!? How _dare_ he resort to trickery to trap Mario and the others, rather than “fighting like a true Boo,” as he once boasted!?

The two blue ghosts swooped at him, and he responded by pulling out the Poltergust’s strobulb, blinding the two ghosts with it and freezing them in their path. He then pulled out the Poltergust’s nozzle, switching it on.

The vacuum grabbed one ghost by its spectral tail; as Luigi stood his ground, trying to pull it into the vacuum, the other ghost snapped out of its stunned state. It cackled, readying a fist to hit him with, leering at him as Polterpup barked angrily at the ghost, trying to get it to back down.

Luigi briefly looked into the ghost’s glowing eyes, and, once again, the flashes of memories filled his mind—Ridley, Ganondorf, Dracula, Death, Veran, Galeem, Dharkon, and Hellen and King Boo, taunting him with the paintings of his trapped loved ones and gloating about it… 

“…I’ve had _enough_!” he declared.

He swung the Poltergust’s nozzle, still holding the other ghost by the tail, and the stuck ghost slammed into the one about to attack him, sending them both crashing to the ground. He drew the nozzle back, once again dragging the trapped ghosts, and swung it down again. Then, a third time. A fourth. A fifth.

Shrieking, the terrified ghosts, out of energy, were quickly drawn into the Poltergust’s containment tank.

Polterpup was staring at him with a mix of confusion and concern; he certainly had never seen Luigi act like that before.

And Luigi found himself catching his breath. That had been incredibly cathartic, and yet… mildly terrifying.

“Oh, boy…” he sighed.

He had to watch himself, he reminded himself. Having dark magic along with light magic had saved him during the struggle with Galeem and Dharkon, but he had learned long ago that his negative emotions had the power to create dangerously powerful magic—and it didn’t matter if it was light or dark this time, if he ended up giving in to his emotions and unleashed the Negative Zone again…

A chill crept up his spine.

Was that King Boo’s secret contingency plan? Even if his plan for a trap failed and Luigi succeeded in rescuing the captives, was he banking on the Negative Zone making its return and Luigi potentially losing control over it? If that happened—if Luigi fell to his negative emotions again—even if King Boo would lose this fight—he would still have gained a victory to some capacity.

Luigi sat down now, mindful of how his heart was absolutely racing in his chest, and not just from fright this time. He shut his eyes, breathing in and out, trying to remember Wii Fit Trainer’s deep breathing exercises.

Had had to stay in control of his emotions, if not only for his sake, then for his brother and his friends. He knew, without a doubt, that falling to his negative emotions would be a price that Mario would not pay for his freedom—and he knew Peach and the Toads would feel the same way. As for Professor Gadd, well… Luigi hadn’t ever told him about the Negative Zone, but it was safe to assume he wouldn’t approve of it, either.

They would be free, only to lose Luigi—and that would devastate them. And Luigi couldn’t let that happen.

Polterpup now attempted to nudge him (phasing right through him as a result), and, slowly, Luigi returned to the here and now.

“…It’ll be okay, Boy,” he promised. “Come on, let’s go help the others.” The soon this was over, the sooner he could get back to a normal life—well, whatever it was that was “normal” for him and his brother, anyway…

_Just hang in there, Everyone_ , he silently transmitted. _I’ll make sure you get out of this—and that the real me does, too_.


End file.
